Morning Skincare Routine - May
For the past few weeks I haven't been washing my face in the morning!
I'm a great fan of the double-cleanse method, but then I read somewhere about not needing to double-cleanse in the morning if you double-cleanse at night. It was advised that you start your morning routine with the toner step, skipping out oil cleansers and foaming washes (or whatever double-cleansing products you use) altogether.
Now it's not like I'd jump off a cliff if the internet told me to, but this made a bit of sense to me - why add more potentially drying/stripping/exfoliating products when there was no make-up to remove?
And this has worked out brilliantly well for me personally. I'd go so far as to say that I could currently change my skin status from combination/oily to NORMAL!
I've noticed that by just toning in the morning, the oiliness on my face has calmed right down. And better still, I haven't had to blot in the day and very rarely use any type of powder to set my foundation in the morning and have not needed a dab from my powder compact in the day either.
Neither has it left me with any dry patches. My skin seems to have found a happy place.
My only current skin concern at the moment seems to be that I still get itchy bumps along my jawline later in the day (although not every day) - but I think this is probably due to environmental factors and treat accordingly as needed.
So the above photo shows my pre-gym/wake-up routine.
A simple and gentle toner - Garnier Skin Active Rosewater toner
A quick swipe to refresh my eyes with Garnier Skin Active Micellar water
and finally a couple of bursts of spray of the Arrow Hydrate facial mist.
After the gym and before I shower, once a week I will make up a red clay mask. I'll only do this once a week because it is quite drying. I prefer to wash this off in the shower as it's less messy!
I bought my red clay powder from ebay (from this seller in Portugal).
There are many sellers offering small tester amounts (lots with free shipping) up to bigger packages. I bought 25g for £1.87 with free postage.
There are different clays available.
* Information below taken from the ebay seller's page
* Information below taken from the ebay seller's page
Red Clay - it has an incredible amount of minerals (it contains the highest quantity of silica, magnesium, potassium and calcium) and strong absorbing properties. It’s very negatively charged and most toxins in your skin are positively charged, so this clay is the perfect magnet for sopping up all those impurities—sebum plugs, blackheads, and oil around hair follicles. I mix this was the rosewater toner to form a thick paste (usually thicker than in the photo above!).
Green Clay - has strong absorbing and purifying properties, making it the perfect option for people with acne and oily skin. A green clay mask will suck every single blackhead out of your face! It is not the strongest, but it might not be the best option for people with sensitive skin. Is also used in poultices to treat sore muscles, sprains, arthritis, pastes for minor cuts, insect bites, minor burns and stings. The color could not necessary be green, most of this clays are more like a greenish grey.
Recipe/Process: Facial Mask Ingredients:
1 cup oatflour;
1 cup French Clay Green;
4 drops Lavender Essential Oil;
4 drops Peppermint Essential Oil or any mint type essential oil;
2 cucumbers slices per mask;
Combine and mix all the ingredients well and store in a jar.
Mix a tbsp of powder with 2 tbsps of water.
Mix this into a paste. Apply the paste to your face and let dry for between 5-10 minutes, rinse and pat dry.
Place the cucumbers over the eyes and relax.
Rinse off, pat skin dry and follow with a preferred moisturizer.
It is suited for all skin kinds, particularly for dry, sensitive, and mature skin.
It assists the tone of your skin and heal troubles like acne, blemishes, etc. It is utilised in a variety of pores and skin care recipes simply because it is a comfortable and mild clay that absorbs impurities, stimulates circulation to the skin, and encourages elasticity.
Furthermore, it soothes the skin, and refines the pores. White clay is enriched with minerals like magnesium, potassium, silica, iron, calcium, zinc, and many others.
Poultices can be made from the clay to help decrease inflammation and reduce swelling.
A white clay facial can be used regularly, even for people with combination dry and sensitive skin.
It supplies the skin with important minerals, including silica to help form new collagen.
It has a gentle detoxifying effect, pulling out impurities without increasing redness.
External Use :
Skin Mask
1 - Mix 1 table spoon of clay with 2 to 3 spoons of water. (can use organic oil jojoba, aloe vera almond, lavender or even milk). Mix it untill you get a paste
2 - Place the paste with a soft brush all over the area you want to treat.
3 - wait until dry and rinse it off with water.
4 - Moisturise the area with a natural organic cream.(preferably with a jojoba or aloe vera).
Internal Use:
The practice of eating clay (soil) or soil-like substrates as chalk and animals is called geophagy.
Easy to use, just add 1 coffee table spoon of clay to a glass of filtered water, let stand for 5 minutes and drink the water on an empty stomach, and can repeat at bed time.
Green Clay - has strong absorbing and purifying properties, making it the perfect option for people with acne and oily skin. A green clay mask will suck every single blackhead out of your face! It is not the strongest, but it might not be the best option for people with sensitive skin. Is also used in poultices to treat sore muscles, sprains, arthritis, pastes for minor cuts, insect bites, minor burns and stings. The color could not necessary be green, most of this clays are more like a greenish grey.
Recipe/Process: Facial Mask Ingredients:
1 cup oatflour;
1 cup French Clay Green;
4 drops Lavender Essential Oil;
4 drops Peppermint Essential Oil or any mint type essential oil;
2 cucumbers slices per mask;
Combine and mix all the ingredients well and store in a jar.
Mix a tbsp of powder with 2 tbsps of water.
Mix this into a paste. Apply the paste to your face and let dry for between 5-10 minutes, rinse and pat dry.
Place the cucumbers over the eyes and relax.
Rinse off, pat skin dry and follow with a preferred moisturizer.
WHITE KAOLIN CLAY : This clay is edible/foodgrade and has natural absorbent properties and can also be used as a mask, exfoliating, drawing impurities from the skin and increasing circulation and highly beneficial for rejuvenating your pores.
It assists the tone of your skin and heal troubles like acne, blemishes, etc. It is utilised in a variety of pores and skin care recipes simply because it is a comfortable and mild clay that absorbs impurities, stimulates circulation to the skin, and encourages elasticity.
Furthermore, it soothes the skin, and refines the pores. White clay is enriched with minerals like magnesium, potassium, silica, iron, calcium, zinc, and many others.
Poultices can be made from the clay to help decrease inflammation and reduce swelling.
A white clay facial can be used regularly, even for people with combination dry and sensitive skin.
It supplies the skin with important minerals, including silica to help form new collagen.
It has a gentle detoxifying effect, pulling out impurities without increasing redness.
External Use :
Skin Mask
1 - Mix 1 table spoon of clay with 2 to 3 spoons of water. (can use organic oil jojoba, aloe vera almond, lavender or even milk). Mix it untill you get a paste
2 - Place the paste with a soft brush all over the area you want to treat.
3 - wait until dry and rinse it off with water.
4 - Moisturise the area with a natural organic cream.(preferably with a jojoba or aloe vera).
Internal Use:
The practice of eating clay (soil) or soil-like substrates as chalk and animals is called geophagy.
Easy to use, just add 1 coffee table spoon of clay to a glass of filtered water, let stand for 5 minutes and drink the water on an empty stomach, and can repeat at bed time.
FRENCH PINK CLAY - This is a really lovely ingredient for a sensitive skin, that you can use in your homemade face masks.
It is considered to be the mildest of all the clays and works well for normal, sensitive and mature skin types and can be used to cleanse and detoxify the skin, remove dead skin cells and create and overall refreshed appearance.
It can also be used to treat acne and other skin ailments; poor blood and/or lymph circulation and sun damaged skin. It is most widely used in cosmetic manufacturing.
Application: French pink clay can be used in detoxifying body wraps, soap making, face masks, mineral based or cream based cleansers, face or body scrubs, cosmetics and facial powders.
Recipes:
Soothing Face Mask Combine 1 oz of clay to 3 tbsp of water, add 1 tsp of jojoba oil and 2 drops of chamomile essential oil to form a paste. Apply to the skin and leave for about 10 minutes and wash off with warm water. Floral water or aloe vera gel juice can be substituted for water.
Foam baths and shampoos Add 5-10% of clays to product. Simply sprinkle the clay in and allow to settle. Always shake before use as the Clay sinks to the bottom.
Post-gym skincare routine
This is where it gets a little bit more product-heavy!
I'm going to try and stick with this routine for the rest of the month. There's been far too much chopping and changing and wanting to try out all the new products I've bought. However, with my skin feeling so happy at the moment, I don't want to rock the boat (although the odd sample product does get slipped in now and again).
From L-R in order of use:
* Cosrx -Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol - I had been using Pixi Glow Tonic (which I love but when it ran out I wanted to try this toner as everyone was raving about it on Instagram! Have been using for several weeks now and it feels less astringent than the Glow Tonic and leaves me looking bright and clean.
* Naruko - Raw Job's Tears Supercritical CO2 Pore Minmizing & Brightening Lotion.
A Taiwanese brand - much raved about in the Asian Beauty online community. I bought this when looking at which skin issues I wanted to address - pore minimizing is still one of my concerns. Not entirely sure if this isn't another toner but it's working well where it is in my routine. Not sure if this sold in the UK but I found this on ebay from a reputable seller (link above).
* Cosrx - Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
My HG item! Those itchy bumps on my jawline - this is my go-to product to sort those out. But I use it every morning and night too. It's just so calming and soothing.
* Danielle Laroche Dead Sea Wonders Soothing Face Serum
I actually picked this up in TK Maxx for about £6.00 recently. The link above takes you to an ebay seller, but check out TK Maxx first if interested. I was umming and aah-ing about which serum to go for. Most of the ones I'm interested in are far too expensive for me at the moment (must reign in the spending!) so this one was meant to be a stop-gap while I saves me pennies for one of the big boys. Ingredients include Inca Inchi - which is apparently the oil richest in Omega 3, 6 & 9 plus argan oil. So those were appealing to me. It's made in Israel, and I hadn't heard of this brand before. But I'm liking it so far. It's quite heavily scented (a rather lovely scent which I can't quite put my finger on) but I like a nice smell - but probably not for those who don't like over-powering scents in their skincare. It sinks in nicely without being tacky, and again, is working well in this current routine.
* Neogen - Code 9 White Sparkling Cream
Again, another product from TK Maxx. The link above is for the RoseRose Shop.
Despite being of the right age, my skin is not a fan of moisturisers for the getting-on-a-bit woman. They're often too heavy and oily for me. This cream is a super light watery gel (it's called 'watering system') - a lovely cool pale blue water colour. The colour, look and feel of the cream/gel perhaps slightly fools me into thinking super-moisturising. It is certainly very soothing and cool on application - BUT, I'm in two minds about this, I can often feel slightly tingly and a teensy bit itchy a little while after application. I don't want to eradicate it from the routine just yet (I paid for it, godammit!) but my mind is veering away to getting hold of one of the TonyMoly Chok Chok Watery products, which I have tried a sample of and gives the uber-hydrating feel without the tightening.
* Biore UV Aqua Rich watery Essence sunscreen with an SPF of 50.
This is another HG product out there in the online skincare community. To be honest, unless it was the height of summer, I didn't used to pay much attention to wearing a sunscreen year round. I would buy products with an SPF in them, but that was where I stopped thinking about it.
But considering that sun damage is the main cause for premature ageing (and obvs all the skin-protection bits too) wearing sun protector all year round isn't as loopy as I may have once thought. I can see why this is so many people's holy grail. It's an extremely lightweight cream, easy to apply, leaves no white caste and non-oily so doesn't make your foundation slip off.
* The Ordinary High-Adherence Silicone Primer
I've included this in my routine because I apply this before make-up. This is the product that seemed to have the whole world in a tizzy - a primer for £3.90. There aren't waiting-lists for it anymore (we're all on a list for The Ordinary Colours now!). Maybe, because like me, everyone's gotten over the frenzy and may be feeling just a little bit 'whatevs' about this primer now. It's not my favourite primer I've ever used. But it'll do while I use it up....
From L-R in order of use:
* Cosrx -Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol - I had been using Pixi Glow Tonic (which I love but when it ran out I wanted to try this toner as everyone was raving about it on Instagram! Have been using for several weeks now and it feels less astringent than the Glow Tonic and leaves me looking bright and clean.
* Naruko - Raw Job's Tears Supercritical CO2 Pore Minmizing & Brightening Lotion.
A Taiwanese brand - much raved about in the Asian Beauty online community. I bought this when looking at which skin issues I wanted to address - pore minimizing is still one of my concerns. Not entirely sure if this isn't another toner but it's working well where it is in my routine. Not sure if this sold in the UK but I found this on ebay from a reputable seller (link above).
* Cosrx - Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
My HG item! Those itchy bumps on my jawline - this is my go-to product to sort those out. But I use it every morning and night too. It's just so calming and soothing.
* Danielle Laroche Dead Sea Wonders Soothing Face Serum
I actually picked this up in TK Maxx for about £6.00 recently. The link above takes you to an ebay seller, but check out TK Maxx first if interested. I was umming and aah-ing about which serum to go for. Most of the ones I'm interested in are far too expensive for me at the moment (must reign in the spending!) so this one was meant to be a stop-gap while I saves me pennies for one of the big boys. Ingredients include Inca Inchi - which is apparently the oil richest in Omega 3, 6 & 9 plus argan oil. So those were appealing to me. It's made in Israel, and I hadn't heard of this brand before. But I'm liking it so far. It's quite heavily scented (a rather lovely scent which I can't quite put my finger on) but I like a nice smell - but probably not for those who don't like over-powering scents in their skincare. It sinks in nicely without being tacky, and again, is working well in this current routine.
* Neogen - Code 9 White Sparkling Cream
Again, another product from TK Maxx. The link above is for the RoseRose Shop.
Despite being of the right age, my skin is not a fan of moisturisers for the getting-on-a-bit woman. They're often too heavy and oily for me. This cream is a super light watery gel (it's called 'watering system') - a lovely cool pale blue water colour. The colour, look and feel of the cream/gel perhaps slightly fools me into thinking super-moisturising. It is certainly very soothing and cool on application - BUT, I'm in two minds about this, I can often feel slightly tingly and a teensy bit itchy a little while after application. I don't want to eradicate it from the routine just yet (I paid for it, godammit!) but my mind is veering away to getting hold of one of the TonyMoly Chok Chok Watery products, which I have tried a sample of and gives the uber-hydrating feel without the tightening.
* Biore UV Aqua Rich watery Essence sunscreen with an SPF of 50.
This is another HG product out there in the online skincare community. To be honest, unless it was the height of summer, I didn't used to pay much attention to wearing a sunscreen year round. I would buy products with an SPF in them, but that was where I stopped thinking about it.
But considering that sun damage is the main cause for premature ageing (and obvs all the skin-protection bits too) wearing sun protector all year round isn't as loopy as I may have once thought. I can see why this is so many people's holy grail. It's an extremely lightweight cream, easy to apply, leaves no white caste and non-oily so doesn't make your foundation slip off.
* The Ordinary High-Adherence Silicone Primer
I've included this in my routine because I apply this before make-up. This is the product that seemed to have the whole world in a tizzy - a primer for £3.90. There aren't waiting-lists for it anymore (we're all on a list for The Ordinary Colours now!). Maybe, because like me, everyone's gotten over the frenzy and may be feeling just a little bit 'whatevs' about this primer now. It's not my favourite primer I've ever used. But it'll do while I use it up....
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